


Stuck In Time

by Necey



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-19 14:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20326420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Necey/pseuds/Necey
Summary: When someone finds a cursed village, the smart thing would be to turn around and never come back. Leorio was apparently not that smart.





	Stuck In Time

**Author's Note:**

> Part of Leopika Week 2019 - Fairy Tale

Wind blew softly through the trees, rustling the leaves and leaving a cool and refreshing feeling behind. The birds were singing their songs to the animals living below, and the dappled sunlight cast a lovely glow onto the forest floor.

Leorio couldn't appreciate the natural beauty around him, running for his life and all. The bandits behind him whooped and hollered, calling for him to slow down, they weren't going to hurt him that much. Leorio paid them no heed as he crashed through the undergrowth, looking for anything resembling safety.

Today should have been an easy trek from one town to the next, something he'd done a hundred times recently. The road was nice, the weather was perfect, but his luck decided to turn against him. The bandits had come out of nowhere, jumping out from over a small ridge next to the road. They would have caught him too, if not for leader tripping and distracting the rest of them. The forest wasn't the best place to go running into without a map or a compass, but it was either that or get robbed and probably killed.

Leorio serpentined through the trees, trying his best to shake his pursuers. Nothing other than his stamina was going to save him it seemed and he thanked the stars that he was in good shape. 

In the distance, through the trees, Leorio could see what looked like a house. He made a beeline straight for it, hoping against hope for some kind of help and that he wasn't running toward the bandit's lair. His heart sank when he saw the bright purple fence stretching across his path, a sure sign of the cursed ground behind it.

Leorio skidded to a stop, looking beyond the fence into the seemingly perfect forest. From behind him he could hear the bandits calling out to each other, splitting up so they could come at him from all sides. Making a split decision he was most likely going to regret later, Leorio jumped the fence and ran a few feet into the cursed ground, turning around to see if the bandits would follow him over.

Most the bandits came to a halt at the fence, but there was one or two that clambered over and reached for Leorio. He didn't give them the chance to get close, turning tail and running further away from the fence and toward the house he'd spied through the trees. He could hear the bandits curse him, but they'd finally stopped their pursuit.

Leorio didn't stop running until he got to the house. He leaned against the back wall to catch his breath, wondering if the bandits were really the worst option here. There was no telling what kind of curse he'd exposed himself to, but for the moment he felt perfectly fine. Something was off though, not with his body but with his surroundings. Leorio straightened up once he caught his breath and looked around, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. It hit him a moment later, there was barely any sound. No wind rustling the leaves, no animals calling out from the undergrowth, it was unnaturally still. Literally, he noticed, the nearby trees weren't moving at all, not even a twitch of a leaf. The ground too, felt frozen, hard as stone with only the top layer of dirt being movable.

Leorio swallowed hard, wondering if he should hightail it out of there and take his chances with the bandits. Being frozen didn't sound as bad as being skinned alive though. Leorio crept around the side of the house and spied a woman standing out front. Knowing better, he slowly made his way around her to find her frozen mid light of her pipe. It was unnerving to see her stand there without moving, not even a hair out of place as the wind blew. If not for the color and the immaculate detail, Leorio would have thought her a statue. 

Looking around he realized he was on the outskirts of a decent sized village. People were scattered here and there, going about their business. There a man and woman watched as a toddler took a step, over there were two kids chasing each other with swords, everywhere he looked was a snapshot of someone's life the moment the curse hit them. It must have been a surprise, no one looked scared or even worried. He wondered why they'd been cursed in the first place. 

The houses were quaint and rounded, unlike any he'd ever seen before. The clothes too, weren't traditionally what was seen around now a days. They were almost dress like, a lot of loose tabards and jewel tones. How long had these people been frozen? Was he going to be frozen too? 

He couldn't have been the first person to stumble into this village, and he couldn't see anybody that looked out of place, so he felt decently safe that he wasn't going to be joining these people in their eternal slumber. Without the fear of being frozen hanging over him, it was actually fascinating to walk though the village and see everyone going about their lives. 

Fascinating or not, night was rapidly approaching and Leorio didn't fancy spending it in the dirt. He headed to the nearest house and tried the door to no avail. Even trying to force it open wouldn't work. Each house he tried ended up the same way. It was probably the curse freezing things magically, but knowing that didn't help with his problem.

Finally he came across a house with the door ajar, a man walking away from it as if he'd just left. Squeezing through the crack he found a normal, if not sparsely decorated home. Neat piles of books, a handful of trinkets lining the shelves, and nothing out of place, the person living here was probably a bit stuck up or at least a neat freak.

Leorio headed for the kitchen, wondering if he might be able to cut into any of the frozen food. Sitting at the kitchen table was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen. Short blond hair in a bob, warm brown eyes, and a serene face that had Leorio swooning. Mister beautiful had his hands curled around a coffee cup, looking at nothing and smiling so gently. This must be the owner of the house and the other man leaving was a friend. A very good friend apparently. 

Leorio took a moment to study the man's face, knowing he wouldn't find someone so beautiful for a long while. Too bad he was frozen in time, Leorio would love the chance to try and court him, if he were still available. Judging by that expression he very well might not be. 

Turning his attention away from his newfound crush, Leorio inspected the rest of the house. The pantry was decently stocked, but no matter how hard he tried none of the food was going anywhere. The bedroom was as clean and orderly as the front room, the bed nicely made. Leorio took a seat and grimaced as the bed didn't give. Whatever magic was freezing things had the bed rock hard. Still, with his sleeping pallet it wouldn't be too bad. The man also had a study, bookshelves lined completely and various magical artifacts scattered about. This was the only room that was slightly messy, a small glimpse into mister beautiful's personality.

As Leorio lay down to sleep, he wondered if he'd be frozen as well. Just because he hadn't seen anyone out of place didn't mean it wouldn't affect him too. After all most people wouldn't be stupid enough to sleep in a cursed area. If he did get frozen, at least he wouldn't know about it. He figured the curse would be broken sooner or later and it wasn't like he had any pressing matters to attend to or anyone to miss him.

When he woke he was still free of the curse, but he didn't want to keep pressing his luck. As soon as the forest lit up enough for him to find his way, he headed off in the direction he though the nearest town would be. Against all odds, he managed to find it with little problem, and it was only a few hours away. 

His first order of business, as it was in every new town, was to find the healers and ask for an apprenticeship. He'd had no luck at all so far, so he didn't expect anything different here. He was surprised to find the local healing house was fairly busy.

Leorio walked in and looked around, ignoring the sick people sitting in the front room. It was well kept, nicely designed, and most importantly, clean. It was also big enough to need a woman keeping order out front. She noticed Leorio looking around and called him over.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked. 

"This is a rather busy healer's house for a small town isn't it?" Leorio asked, still looking around. Some of the patients were cursed instead of sick. One poor boy had a purple tentacle for an arm.

"Yes sir, we service every town this side of the forest so we're always busy." She answered professionally. Another good sign.

"Do you have any openings for apprentices? I'm training to become a healer and I'd like to apprentice under a local one if possible." 

"Um," she said, "that's something you'll have to ask our head healer. She's seeing patients right now, could you come back this afternoon?" More than one healer was also a good sign. This place may just be the answer to his problems.

"Of course." Leorio bid her farewell and headed out to find an inn. To his dismay, the inns in the town were expensive, and even the ones out of town were a bit out of his pay range. He had enough to stay for a week or so, but after than he'd either have to stay in the seediest of inns or sleep on the street. If it came down to it he'd sleep on the street, less chance of getting robbed. 

By time he got his sleeping arrangements made, it was time to head back to the healer's house. He was told to wait in a small room off to the side until the head healer could see him. The room was full of books, and papers and Leorio itched to snoop and read but he figured that wouldn't make a good first impression. He didn't have to wait long before the head healer came in.

The woman had been cursed to look like a dog, with a little snout and dog ears perched on top of her head. Her hair was mint colored and she wore a nice almost lacy outfit, but Leorio could tell she wasn't one to be messed with.

"So you want to become an apprentice here," she said, taking a seat on the other side of her desk. 

"Yes ma'am." Leorio straightened up, feeling a bit intimidated in her presence. "I'm working hard to become a healer but without someone to learn from it's slow going."

"Do you have any experience?" She asked briskly, cutting straight to the point.

"No, nothing outside of books."

"Then I can't take you on as an apprentice." She nodded, her decision final. "As you've probably noticed this house is very busy and we can't train a new healer from the ground up." 

Leorio's heart sank, but he figured as much. That had been the answer in the last few places he'd tried too. "I understand. Is there anyway I can work here? Not as a healer but perhaps as I don't know, a helper? Someone to clean or haul things around?" Even if he wasn't getting trained, he could at least get some experience with a healer's house environment.

The woman looked him over, really looked instead of the glance she'd thrown him earlier. "If you don't mind the poor pay, I can take you on as a cleaner and occasional heavy lifter."

"Deal," Leorio said without hesitation. Anything that would get him closer to his goal, regardless of pay, would be fine by him.

She nodded and stood up, holding out her hand to shake. "My name's Cheadle. If you'll follow me I'll lead you to Marrissa who will go over the terms of your employment." 

"Leorio," he said as he shook her hand, "and thank you."

Marrissa was a cute dumpy lady who explained to him what he was going to be doing. Mostly cleaning every surface in the room between patients, but also hauling around supplies and if needed, bodies. Cheadle had warned him of the poor pay, but it was still disheartening to hear what it was.

Unfortunately, the pay wasn't going to cover his inn expenses and as his money ran short, he wondered how he could remedy his problem. He couldn't get another job, the healer's house was an all day thing, and he couldn't save money while staying in the inns. He just needed a place to stay that was cheap or better yet, free. He did know of a place, but did he really want to potentially curse himself? 

He did some math and found if he rented a horse every day it would still be cheaper than staying in an inn every night, plus it would be sustainable with his paycheck. With the last of his money, he bought a few supplies, rented a horse, and headed back to the cursed village.

He expected the horse to get spooked once they were past the warning fence, but it showed no sign of noticing anything amiss. That made Leorio feel better about coming back to stay. Animals could usually sense danger much better than humans could. 

Leorio sought out the house he'd stayed in before and unpacked his supplies. He found that this house was somehow perfect for him. All the shelves he needed were free, every door was open so he could get into the rooms, the chair at the kitchen table was pulled out at the perfect distance for him to sit comfortably, and of course, mister beautiful was there. 

His plan to cut costs worked out better than he could have hoped. Without having to spend his whole paycheck on an inn, he was able to save up some coin for supplies, and if he stayed frugal he might even be able to afford some books. Things got even better when the stables offered to give him a discount if he helped muck out the horse stalls. 

No one came by the village either, so he never had to worry about getting robbed. Unfortunately that meant if he wanted company during the night he'd have to buy a room, but that was getting easier and easier as he saved.

When he was at the village, he took to talking to the people there. Little things to help ease the loneliness of being surrounded by people but utterly alone. He gave them all names based on their looks and what they'd been doing when the curse hit them. 

"Good morning miss happy!" Leorio greeted a woman who was laughing at seemingly nothing.

"Mister jumper, looking good." Leorio patted the man on the back, always amazed at how he was suspended mid air. He kept expecting to move him and kept being unable.

"Mister and miss toddler, your baby is darling as always," he said to the happy couple watching their kid toddle it's way toward a toy.

If he were being honest, he felt a little silly walking around greeting them everyday, but it had become such a habit it was hard to break. Not that he wanted to break it.

Leorio would always talk to mister beautiful, at least one small conversation a night. The topics ranged all over the board, from the weather to what kind of patients were at the healer's house that day. 

"Man beautiful, I wish you could have seen it today. Two cart drivers got into a hell of a fight outside the healer's house, it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, them beating each other over the head with sacks of grain."

"You should have seen this one girl beautiful, poor thing was covered in leeches that wouldn't let go until we burnt them off."

"We lost one today. They came from too far away and the guy was gone by time Cheadle got to him."

He especially liked telling mister beautiful what he though the other people in the village were doing. 

"There's a guy sneaking around by the tree line, pretty sure he's creeping on a lady but I'm not sure which one. There's like, three girls in that area. Heh, maybe he's just that much of a perv."

"Miss happy seems like she's laughing at nothing, but you know what I think? I think she's cracking herself up with a bad pun."

"And you, mister beautiful, I bet you're a spitfire under all this neatness. It's the quiet ones that you gotta watch out for. Bet you love adventure and getting dirty and you're always in trouble, the opposite of how you look."

Sometimes Leorio swore he could feel the guy roll his eyes or sigh at his antics.

He didn't know why he felt so at ease talking to mister beautiful, if it was because he knew beautiful couldn't hear him or if it was because of beautiful's expression, but he opened up about things he usually kept to himself. About his friend that had died recently, far too recently for the pain to have faded much. He broke down more than once.

When he started being able to buy his own books, he would sit across from mister beautiful and study, making comments to him as if to keep him included. Leorio used him as a sounding board when he was trying to remember things or quiz himself. It was surprisingly efficient.

The longer he stayed in the village, the more he noticed how dirty everything was. People and animals were covered in dirt, grime, and spiderwebs, and the houses had definitely seen better days. When he wasn't working or studying, he started to clean the place up a bit. He focused on the people first of course, washing them off and revealing much more color underneath the grime than he expected. It was a little weird, cleaning off what were technically living people, but he couldn't bring himself to treat them like statues. 

"Sorry, sorry," he said, washing off someone's eyes.

Crouching down and getting ready to wash the bottom half of a woman. "Well this is going to be awkward for both of us."

He scrubbed and scrubbed one kid's face before he realized. "That grime is actually on you isn't it? You scamp, getting dirty as hell and then making me think I'm not doing a good job."

Another weird thing was cleaning the ground, but some places on the dirt had become stagnant and disgusting and they needed a good scrubbing. If someone had told him he'd be scrubbing dirt one day he would have laughed at them. Soon enough the whole village was sparkling and new, including inside the few houses he could get into via the windows. The only things not scrubbed were the trees and bushes, because hell no he wasn't trying to clean every leaf. 

The village honestly felt like a good luck charm, ever since he took an active role in helping the place, things started going for the better. The healers at the house were teaching him things when they had a bit of downtime, and he was saving more and more money which meant he could afford more books. One day he got called into Cheadle's office for a talk.

"You've been learning fast Leorio," she said. "If you're still interested I'd like to take you on as an apprentice. But," she raised her hand before Leorio could enthusiastically agree, "just know that the work will be grueling. I will not go easy on you."

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Leorio said, and the look she gave him said she was going to make him regret those words.

"One other thing," she said, returning to her business-like manner. "Where do you go every night? You head towards the forest but the nearest town that direction is a day's ride away." 

"Well um..." How did he explain he'd kind of stolen a cursed village and was living there? "I've found a nice place in the forest to stay."

She studied him for a moment, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Please don't tell me you're staying at that abandoned village." At Leorio's sheepish shrug she groaned, "Leorio, that place is cursed."

"I know, it's all frozen in time. It can be hard to live there, but it's free." The hardest thing about living in the village was the dirt didn't absorb water. He kept forgetting and making messes that he had to clean up. Not to mention his horse...

"No, I mean yes it is frozen in time, but the main curse is anyone who stays there suffers from terrible luck. Several people have died from their bad luck."

"How can you be sure that's what caused it? Some people are just unlucky." 

"One died from a mule falling on him from a roof, that's not normal," Cheadle said with a flat look. 

"Okay yeah, but my luck has improved." By a lot actually, this apprenticeship was just the tip of the good things coming his way.

"For now, that doesn't mean it won't come back on you later. Please, for your own sake, find a place in town to stay."

Leorio nodded and all the way back home he considered it. With his pay raise, another lucky thing to come his way, he could easily stay in town and still have enough money left over to live somewhat comfortably. 

He wandered the village, taking in all the people he'd come to know and wondered if staying would really kill him. This village, especially now that it was clean, didn't seem sinister in the slightest. It was just a poor village that got caught in the crossfire of something bigger. 

Leorio took a seat across from mister beautiful and studied the face he'd already committed to memory. 

"I'm supposed to leave you and this village, apparently you're all bad luck," Leorio said, propping his head against his fist. "I don't want to though, not just because it's free here. I know it's weird and stupid, but I actually like this place and the people here. I've never spoke to a single one of you, for all I know you're all actually statues, but I guess I got attached. Especially to you beautiful, you definitely make each day better."

Leorio chuckled and turned to look out the window. He heaved a sigh. "Should I leave?"

"No."

"Yeah, but the bad luck. I don't want a mule to land on me."

There was a gentle laughter. "What?"

Leorio turned to look at mister beautiful who was currently smiling at him with mirth in his eyes. The guy laughed as Leorio stared, probably looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Hello Leorio," he said, tilting his head a little bit and revealing a ruby earring. Leorio had never seen that earring before, never seen that hair move, never heard this beautiful man's beautiful voice.

"Um." Was all Leorio could say, looking around like this was some sort of trick. But no, he could hear people talking outside, things moving.

"You broke our curse," the man explained. "You showed us kindness when you had nothing to gain from it."

"Uh." Leorio looked back to mister beautiful, still gaping like a fish. Beautiful raised a fist to his mouth to cover his laughter, eyes dancing. Outside he could hear a child crying, other people talking and coming closer. The front door opened and mister friend walked in, laughing as well. 

"Be ready, everyone in town is coming."

He hadn't been lying, soon enough everyone Leorio had gotten to know over the last several months came by to greet him and thank him. Before he knew it, Leorio was swept into the crowd and being introduced to everyone in turn. Mister beautiful's name was Kurapika, mister friend was Pairo, miss happy was Karina, and so on. It was a lot to take in all at once, but thankfully mister beautiful managed to get everyone to leave him alone by calling for a feast and party.

As everyone dispersed, calls of what they'd be cooking and who should set up what ringing out, Leorio was pulled to the side by mister beautiful, Kurapika. 

"Sorry, we're very excited to be able to move again," Kurapika said. He hadn't stopped smiling since the curse broke, no one had.

"Yeah wow, I was not expecting this today." Leorio ran a hand through his hair, waving as people kept calling out thanks to him.

"Neither was I, but here we are."

"So um... you were aware of everything the whole time?" Leorio rubbed the back of his neck, wondering how many stupid things he'd said. God, how many times he'd called the man next to him beautiful.

As if reading his thoughts, Kurapika laughed. "Everything yes. Including all your wild theories about my friends and family."

"Oh, uh, sorry?" He couldn't remember saying anything too offensive, but he also couldn't remember everything he'd said.

"Don't be, it was the most entertainment I'd gotten in years. And that reminds me." Kurapika grabbed his shoulder and gently tugged him down so he could give a kiss on Leorio's cheek. "Thank you."

Leorio blushed like some kind of teenager with their first crush. "Don't mention it. But um, what happened? Why were you all cursed?"

Kurapika's expression darkened. "A demon feared our powers so he took us out of the picture. It won't happen again."

Leorio shivered at Kurapika's tone, a dangerous promise of justice to come. He couldn't help but laugh though. "I was dead on about you wasn't I? You really are a spitfire under that calm face."

"You're completely right!" Pairo yelled from across the square. Some of the people close to them laughed and Kurapika snorted.

"Apparently, though that's not the word I'd choose." They lapsed into silence for a moment, watching people come and go, the joy on everyone's faces infectious.. Kurapika smiled at him before moving away toward his home. "I should get some food ready since this party was my idea."

"Let me help you," Leorio blurted. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "I mean, I'm not just going to stand around and do nothing while all of you prepare for a party."

Kurapika nodded and took Leorio's hand to lead him inside. Kurapika didn't let go until he had to and hope sparked in Leorio's chest. He had wanted a chance to court this man, maybe he already had without knowing.

Kurapika showed him how to make a traditional meal of his people, the Kurta. It was hearty and earthy and Leorio found himself falling in love with it. 

The night came and everyone piled around the square with tables full of food and a bonfire. Kurapika stayed by his side most of the night, laughing with him, dancing with him, and the food wasn't the only thing Leorio thought he was falling in love with.

He looked forward to getting to know Kurapika better, as well as everyone else in the village. He'd found a home without even trying, and perhaps had even found his happily ever after.


End file.
